


The Calm Before the Storm

by SkyLeaf



Series: The Faces of Those Left Behind [1]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst, Apocalypse, Despair, Family, Gen, Pre-Breath of the Wild
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:46:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24648937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyLeaf/pseuds/SkyLeaf
Summary: It happened in the blink of an eye, the Guardians turning against the people they were meant to protect, the battle being over before it had truly begun. From within Hyrule Castle Town, however, the destruction was just as immense as if it had lasted a lifetime.
Series: The Faces of Those Left Behind [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1782145
Comments: 9
Kudos: 12





	The Calm Before the Storm

**Author's Note:**

> A little fic about how many people must have died as a result of the Guardians turning against Hyrule and the Great Calamity taking over that I wrote because I am still not really over that.
> 
> Also, this is about the destruction of Castle Town, and therefore, there will be a lot of death and destruction. I deemed that the violence was not graphic, but if you disagree, please don’t hesitate to tell me, as I will gladly change the warning.

Her brother was making a fuss again, refusing to sit down and eat dinner without making a mess of the soup. He had for some reason decided that the proper response to their mother telling him that he still wasn’t old enough to leave the town on his own would be to let the wooden spoon drop into his soup plate, making the orange liquid splatter onto every surface around, the table around him, the floor, and his own clothes, staining the green of his tunic brown.

Inwardly sighing, she bit her lip, trying her best to ignore the urge to tell him to stop acting so childishly. Really, could he not see how their parents had grown old during those last couple of years, how they always seemed worried? Part of her supposed that what she was asking of him was not something that should be asked of a five-year-old, not something that should have been required of any child, but over those last couple of years, she had slowly become aware of how her parents were hiding something from her, the hushed conversations that she could sometimes hear through the bedroom wall when they thought she was already asleep, the way her mother had glanced up towards the castle, mumbling a quick prayer under her breath, when they had gone out to buy bread only a week before being only some of the things that had made her aware of how they were clearly worrying about something.

And once she was aware of the signs, it had not been that difficult to figure out what exactly it was: The princess and the idea of how Ganon might return one day.

Really, if anyone had asked her, she would have told them that they were worrying about nothing. Everyone knew that the last time Ganon had been in Hyrule and the present were separated by several thousands of years ago, and that, even then, they had managed to win in the battle against him. But from the way her parents were clearly trying their best to hide their worry from her, she knew that they would not have appreciated it if she had decided to share her opinions with them, making them aware of how there was no need for all the mumbled prayers and the way her mother would refuse to make warm food whenever the princess would journey out to another one of the sacred springs, having decided that the question of whether or not the princess would be successful all depended on them eating cold food through the months were she would be gone. If they wanted to pretend that the goddess would somehow be able to tell that they were willingly giving up the privilege of fire, then she would allow them to think that. So she kept her knowledge from them, instead discussing the issue with her friends.

As she lifted her spoon, already feeling full but not wanting to ask her parents if she could be excused when her mother was already busy with her younger brother, desperately trying to convince him to eat just a little of the soup, ignored the bitter taste of how there had been a shortage of sugar due to the increased military presence and how it felt like almost everyone was having to leave their home to go to Hyrule Castle Town, she could not help but smile at the memory of how she had finally managed to make her best friend admit to having been in love with one of the new recruits. It was nice to be able to forget about the worry that almost seemed to cling to the air around her when she was at home, even if it was only for a couple of hours.

Almost like the universe had known what she was thinking, her mother finally gave up, standing up with a little sigh that sounded more tired than she had heard her mother be before.

“Well, if you don’t want to eat, then I don’t see how I can make you,” she said, placing the spoon back down next to the bowl with so much force that the hollow sound of wood meeting wood echoed through the dining room as she stood there, for a second seeming to be frozen, before she turned around and exited the room. From how the door slammed only a second later, it was apparent that she had left the house entirely.

On the other side of her table, her father sighed, looking down at the table for a moment before finally meeting her gaze and answering her quizzical look with a little shake of the head. “Don’t worry about it,” he said, “she will be fine. She just… she has a lot to worry about right now.”

The words almost seemed to leave her mouth without her ever having uttered them. She knew that it was a silly thought, she knew that the elderly lady next door, the one who had always been ready to tell her stories of the past princesses when she had been younger would have laughed at the thought before telling her that no words could exist without anyone having thought of them, refusing to clarify the cryptic statement, but that was nevertheless what it felt like as she cocked her head and looked at her father. “Do you mean that she is worried about Ganon returning?”

Instantly, it felt like the temperature around her dropped a few degrees, her father jerking slightly at the mention of the name that was little more than something her friends liked to call her when she was being stubborn about something to her. Had it been anyone but her father who would look back at her, the amount of fear in their eyes almost being enough to make her shiver involuntarily, she might have told them that they were being silly, worrying so much about something everyone knew was so far away from the modern age that it could just as well have been another one of their neighbour’s fairy-tales. But now, the expression on her father’s face was enough to make the fear pool in her stomach, rendering her unable to do much else than to listen as he finally let out a sigh.

“Where did you hear about him?”

“My friends,” she answered, not entertaining the thought of lying or trying to claim that she had not really known what the connection between the name and the tense atmosphere at home had been for even a moment, “they—some of them heard their parents talk about it, so we asked her grandmother, and she told us about how the last time Ganon appeared was more than a thousand years ago and how the princess of that time worked together with someone called—someone called…” she paused, searching for the right word. It had been something with a ‘C’ had it not? Champion! Yes, that was what it was, or at least she was almost certain that was what the new recruit her friend had dragged her halfway through the town to talk with had said as he had made sure to let the shiny metal of his shield reflect the sunlight, “the Champions.”

Her father shot her a look she did not know how to interpret, something that looked like a combination of guilt, sadness, worry, and disappointment, and although she knew that her friends would have laughed at her if she admitted it to them, teasing her about it just like they had playfully mocked her for the one time she had forget to check to make sure her brother had not been able to reach her clothes, resulting in her meeting them with the hem of her tunic stained purple from where her brother had smeared berry-juice all over the fabric, she could not help but acknowledge the little pang that echoed through her at the thought of her father being disappointed with her. Until then, it had always seemed so innocent to discuss how their parents were getting old, worrying about everything with her friends, but now, she felt almost guilty for all the times they had made jokes at their parents’ expense.

She was grateful when her father finally brought an end to the uncomfortable silence that had filled the house since their mother had left with even her little brother having finally realised how it was better for him to sit still rather than to try to interrupt them again with another one of his tantrums though she did her best to hide it as her father shook his head.

“You are right about how it has been millennia since the last time Ganon was able to bring destruction to Hyrule, and it is true that he was defeated by the princess and the Champions. However,” she could see how her father made sure to choose his words carefully, sending a quick glance in the direction of her brother who seemed to have finally lost his patience with the conversation and gone back to the soup, even if she did suppose it could also simply have been a matter of him being hungry, “there are those who think that he will return again soon.”

“Yes, but doesn’t everyone know that it will most likely not happen for several hundred years?” she asked, already recalling how her friend had laughed as she had told her about her parents’ worries, the memory now being accompanied by a bad taste in her mouth she already knew would not be removed by drinking more water. So rather than trying, already knowing full well that she would fail, she looked over at her father, trying to gauge his reaction in advance, trying to figure out if she could find the answer hidden in the way his gaze flickered between her and her brother. “And with how the king has already begun the process of excavating all the machines they used back then, why does mum worry so much about it?”

“Your mother knows what she is talking about,” her father said, the sharp edge to his voice letting her know how she was moving closer and closer to dangerous territory.

It was only then that she realised how she had been moments away from insulting her parents as well as the people she and her friends would sometimes meet while trying to walk through the town, the ones who always seemed to be convinced that something horrible was about to happen, muttering little prayers under their breath while trying their best to make those around them stay and listen to their warnings about how they had to leave the town to flee to the more remote areas of the kingdom. While it pained her to realise that her mother now apparently belonged in the same category, having more in common with the old man who had grabbed her arm the day before, refusing to let go until she had promised him that she would leave the town before midnight than with her, with the way a strange fire burnt in her father’s eyes, she knew better than to comment on it as he gestured towards their front door.

“I must admit that I doubted her as well in the beginning, but now…” he swallowed, and she was not sure if it was to keep himself from saying too much or to keep his fear from escaping him. If it was the later, she could see that it was already too late. No amounts of trying to control his voice would be able to hide how his hands were shaking, how he had begun to tap his feet against the floor beneath the table, creating an uneven, quick rhythm, doing exactly what she knew would have resulted in her mother gently nudging her in the side, sending her a glance to remind her of her manners.

But if he wanted to believe that he was able to hide the extent of his worries from her, then she would give him that. With how she had been able to see how her mother’s rituals surrounding the princess’ journeys to the different sacred sites had grown.

The way it had at first been little more than having to stop to mumble a prayer as the princess rode through the town, accompanied only by the silent knight who seemed to follow her everywhere, the sight of princess sitting on top of the horse that the elders whispered about having been a present given to her by the goddess when she had been a child being enough to make almost the entire town crowd around the road, all wanting to catch a glimpse of their princess, before it began to grow, spreading until it impacted every aspect of their lives—she barely needed to give it a passing thought to remember it all. The memory of how her mother only yesterday had been unwilling to let her leave the house before she had made sure to close all windows twice, just in the event that a breeze making its way into the house would be what made the difference between the princess succeeding and failing then at least it would not be their fault, was never too far away.

Perhaps her father was thinking about the same thing, for there was an almost distant look in his eyes as he continued, “but now… I can’t help but wonder if she is right.”

“What do you mean? We both know that if the princess really was the one to finally seal away Ganon back then, then we are safe now,” she argued.

With how often they had seen the princess leave the town lately, coming home from yet another journey late in the evening, only to leave again the next morning, spending several weeks away from the castle at times, and how many times the king had sent out a new declaration, telling everyone about how his daughter had made progress, she could not believe that her father could still worry about that. Not even if she tried

For she did try her best to be understanding, to try to wait and tell herself that her parents had their reasons for their protective measures. She did it, even when her mother told her that she would not let her go to the castle with her friends to talk with the new guards, telling her that she had dreamt about how the castle would be the first target once Ganon returned. Even she ignored her protests and how she made several attempts at telling her that everyone—the king, the scientists, the priests—had said that Ganon would attack from the sea, how they had made sure that the Akkala Citadel would be ready for an attack when the day of Ganon’s return would come, how the king had already begun the process of evacuating the towns closest to the area, the people from Hateno along with the smaller villages that was scattered along the coastline of the kingdom making the cramped streets around the castle feel even narrower.

She tried and hoped that it would be enough.

But her father simply shook his head like all of that meant nothing next to her mother’s fears. “I—” he shot a glance towards her brother, seemingly deciding that he was so preoccupied with his soup, having finally given in to the tempting smell of it, able to ignore the bitter taste of the watery liquid to instead eat it like it would be taken from him in just a moment, “I don’t want to say anything about our princess that I will not be able to prove, but… you must have heard the rumours about her. You must have.” there was something almost pleading in his voice, like his entire world in that moment depended on her at least trying to see his point.

Perhaps that was why she, rather than telling him that the king had told everyone not to fear, that his daughter was already trying her best to gain control of her powers, and that it was only a matter of time before she would be stronger than any of those who had come before her, actually tried to recall the last time she had seen the princess.

With how the entire town seemed to gather in the streets each time the princess would finally allow herself to be seen in public, those moments becoming rarer and rarer as she had grown up, it was almost laughably easy for her to remember the last time her mother had quickly put out the fire under her pots and pans to instead head out to stand with the rest of their neighbours, pulling her with her so that she could see how her mother’s eyes shone as she looked up at their princess. But as she tried to remember the princess, tried to recall the exact moment where she, rolling her eyes at how obsessed her mother was with the princess, the goddess, and the idea that of Ganon’s return being near, had looked up at the princess, she found that she could not find the memory. Back then, she had mostly cared about how their princess did not take her gaze off a point directly in front of her, moving along gracefully, almost like the crowd around her did not exist, her hair fluttering behind her making it seem almost like she was riding through the fields rather than the town.

The picture changed, and for a moment, she saw what she had not thought to notice back then. It came back, all of it, the way she had been unable to hide her shock at how even the thin smile the princess had worn had still not been enough to truly mask the desperation that was apparent in the crease between her eyebrows, the determination that shone in her eyes clearly coming from fear and anger rather than hope.

It all came back.

And in coming back it brought the fear along with it as well.

But it did not make sense. She had always been the first to defend their princess when she would overhear one of those who liked to try to scare people by claiming that Ganon would return soon, standing up to tell them how the princess would save them, should that day ever come. It was what she did. She trusted the king when he told them not to fear. But more than anything she trusted the princess and the legends she had been told since she had been old enough to understand the world around her. It was how it was supposed to be, the princess and the chosen hero defeating Ganon.

As she looked back up at her father, she suddenly felt much younger, felt like she was seven years old rather than seventeen, a little girl who had just asked her father if he would please look under the bed to make sure that there was no Bokoblin hiding there, waiting for her to fall asleep so that it would be able to grab her.

“Do you think she will fail, dad?” she asked, and although she tried her best to keep her voice even, she could hear how it trembled.

“I don’t know,” her father admitted, and for some reason, seeing him like that, the way he shrugged, unable to give her a better answer than that, scared her more than if he had simply told her that they would all die soon, “I don’t want to doubt the princess—from what I have seen, it appears that she already has to carry a burden that is too heavy for someone her age, but…” he interrupted himself, coughing, and from how his voice grew in volume, she knew that, even if she tried to ask him, he would not be willing to tell her what he had been about to say, “You and your brother have nothing to worry about. If anything happens, your mother and I will make sure that you are safe. No matter what. I promise you that we will not allow anyone to harm you.”

The last part was added, seeming like it had almost been a stray thought more than anything else, but for some reason, it was what sent a shiver down her spine, to hear her father talk about it like that. Of course, on some level, she had always known that her parents would do anything to keep her and her brother safe, had known that they loved her even when they would fight, but hearing her father confirm it like that, talking about the possibility of Ganon returning like it was something that would happen soon, something that would come sweeping in over the kingdom, catching them all off guard… she did not know how to act, did for once not have any of the usual arguments she would use while with her friends.

“Dad—” she began but she did not get to finish the sentence, for that was the moment.

The calm before the storm ended. History let out the breath it had been holding for millennia.

And she felt it.

The ground beneath her feet shook, the entire house seeming like it tilted first to one side, then to the other. Across the table, her brother began to cry as his soup plate slid off the table, the little tremors making the soup spill onto his tunic, and although she already knew that these shocks were only a warning about was to come, could feel how the disaster was nearing deep within her bones, she still looked towards her father, hoping, no praying, that he would look over at her brother and tell him not to play with his food before standing up to go get something to clean up the mess the soup had created, the liquid now lying as a puddle on the floor.

But he did not.

Even as she looked at him, mentally begging him to tell her what to do, to let her be a scared child for just a little longer, freeing her from having to make a decision, from doing something she could be blamed for later—for she had to believe there was a later, she would not have been able to continue to breathe if she did not ignore the way the growing intensity of the shocks told her that this might be the end for her—he only looked towards the door, towards the window where they could see how the window panes were shaking, forming silent words.

Outside, she could hear the sounds of panicked screams, of people showing past one another, footsteps on the stones that covered every road within Castle Town, and as she heard how one set of footsteps stopped right outside their house, saw how the door handle was pressed down, the only thing keeping her from screaming and diving under the table in a hopeless attempt to protect herself was the fact that both her father and brother were still staring at the door, still not moving a muscle. She could not leave them, not now. Although she might have tried her best to plan how she could go to speak with one of the guards only the day before, had spent countless evenings being annoyed by how her brother would often wake them all up when he had a nightmare, in that moment, she knew that she would never be able to leave them behind to save herself.

And so, she stayed, even as her heart beat so wildly against her ribs that it felt like it was trying to escape from the confines of her ribcage as the door swung open.

The relief of seeing her mother enter the kitchen was short-lived, evaporating the moment she saw the look of pure fear on her mother’s face and heard how the door slammed into the wall behind it as she simply let go of it rather than stopping it the way she usually did, having to mumble a quick prayer before slowly closing it while making sure that it was able to keep out the wind.

“You have to leave! Now!” even before she had finished the sentence, her mother had already sprinted through the small room, grabbing her by her wrist, before continuing over to her brother and pulling him down from the chair, ignoring his confused gasp and how the tears and sound of him crying grew in intensity again as she shoved them towards the door, pushing her so harshly that she felt like she would fall over if she did not move her feet right in that moment.

“Mum,” she tried to protest, desperately trying to shove the fear back into the little box in her brain where she had been able to place it for so long, hidden away behind all the reasons her and her friends had been able to find that they had nothing to fear, that the king, the princess, and all the scientists would find a way to make sure that, in the unlikely event that Ganon would really return, they would all be save, only to fail, “mum, what are you doing?”

“There is no time for questions!” her mother’s voice rose, and right then, she could hear how the panic and fear almost seemed to give her mother more strength than she had ever possessed before.

As they crossed the room her mother brushed against her husband. Of all the things it could have been, it seemed to finally be what made him come back to reality, finally acting rather than standing still, following along with her mother’s plan, pushing her and her brother towards the door with their mother’s panicked voice continuing, the sound of it almost seeming to grow distant the more she felt the fear fill her. What did she have left if she was not able to trust that her parents would know what to do? Nothing. Nothing but empty space that waited for the fear to seize her.

But she had to remain present, and so she forced herself to listen, to register the words as they left her mother’s mouth.

“Just—you have to leave now. Run away from the castle, look out for your brother, take care of each other, and don’t forget that your father and I love you very much!”

It was all said in the span of what felt like it could only have lasted a second, her mother sounding like she was moments away bursting into tears, and for some reason, the sound of that, hearing how her mother, the one who had always been more worried than most of her friends’ mothers, the one who made it so that they had to eat cold food most of the time, the reason their soup had been cold from the moment she had first poured it into their soup plates, sounded utterly broken, like she had lost all hope, was enough to give her the strength to slow them down for a moment, just enough so that she could look over at her parents.

“What about you then?”

Immediately, she wished that she had not glanced at them, had been able to keep her gaze fixed on the wall. The look of resignation on their face, the way they seemed to already have accepted that there was nothing they could do to change the fate she was slowly beginning to realise might have arrived sooner than she had ever believed it would, was enough to make her blood become ice in her veins.

And yet, her mother managed to send her a little smile, the pat on her back feeling more like a mockery of the real thing as her voice dropped a little, bearing the same kind of motherly tone it had had the last time she had been sick enough to let her mother care for her, to let her try all of her ideas, opening all the windows although she already shivered and it had been in the middle of winter. How many years had passed since then? In that moment, she was not quite sure. It could have been a thousand years; it could have been little more than a day. All she knew was that she did not want the moment to end, did not want her mother to remove her hand, did not want for the sadness to return to her eyes. But despite her wishes, that was exactly what happened.

“The streets are already so crowded that your father and I would only slow you down. But don’t worry, we will be right behind you, we just don’t want to make you wait for us old people.”

In that moment, the only thing she wanted was to tell them that she loved them, that she would gladly have waited for them, no matter how slow they were, would rather her mother and father be there at her side than to be able to leave the town quickly, but before she got the chance to do as much as to open her mouth, they had arrived at the door and her mother pushed her out.

They were swallowed by the crowd, the fear and panic that drove the people around her almost being overwhelming enough to drown her, to make her lie down and let the crowd trample her, but somehow, she was able to grab her younger brother’s hand, to pull him close to her to make sure they would not lose each other now that they were the only person around them they still knew. For as she tried to look up, tried to recognise even one of the people who sprinted past her, moving away from a threat she still could not see, tried to catch a glimpse of their neighbour, she saw how the blind panic had transformed those she had once known, making it so that, rather than wearing the smiles she had been used to, their faces had become changed by the fear.

Someone bumped into her shoulder, the force of the impact almost being enough to make her fall over. She supposed that part of her had still not quite realised the danger they were in, or perhaps it was simply her mind trying its best to protect her from having to realise the truth of how, deep down, she already knew that this was the end, that this was the exact scenario that had made her mother make up all of those rules, for she turned around, already having opened her mouth to tell them to watch where they were going, only for the sight that met her to render her speechless, unable to do anything else but to gape in silent horror.

The castle towered up in front of her, a majestic building she had always regarded as a symbol of the might of the royal family, a sign that, no matter what happened, she would always be safe as long as the princess with the divine powers that came with the title and name would be there to keep them safe. But now… now the castle had become twisted, purple spike-like columns rising from the ground to form a circle around the castle.

And still, despite how that alone would have been enough to make her feel like she had no other choice but to lie down on the ground and simply wait for death to claim her, it was not the thing that scared her the most in that moment. No, what made her heart stop for a second, allowing the combination of panic and the sinking knowledge that she was still standing there, frozen, still clutching her brother’s hand as she proved unable to do as her parents had told her to and get them away from the danger, to overwhelm her, was the sight of the reddish purple cloud that rose up around the castle, the smoke appearing out of thin air, looking almost like it came from the ground as it began to circle the castle.

As she looked, she was almost certain that she could see the head of a giant boar appear from within the smoke, letting out a roar that made the ground shake around her.

It was her brother’s voice, screaming her name, that pulled her back to reality, made her look down to see how her brother was tugging at her arm, trying to pull her away from the castle, towards the main road, tears streaming down his face. In that instant, she somehow found the strength to shove her own fears away, to focus on nothing else but the fact that her mother and father had trusted her enough to let her and her brother try to escape the town on their own. She could not let them down, not when giving in to her fears would mean remaining there, in the middle of the little road outside their house where everyone from the western side of the town were already pushing past her, trying to make it to the main road where they could reach the town gates.

There was no time to think about anything other than running, letting one step take the next, but as she began to push through the crowd, the same wild instinct, the same need for survival, making her shove the people around her away just as they had done to her moments before, unable to focus on anything that was not the act of constantly pausing to make sure that she did not let go of her brother’s hand, she still imagined how she would have hugged him, crouched down in front of him to make a promise she knew she would never be able to keep, that nothing bad would happen to them or their parents, and that, in just a moment, they would have left the town and the danger she could see rise up around the castle behind, with their parents joining them shortly after. As she pulled him closer towards her, not daring to risk anyone running into them and making them lose sight of the other, she could barely remember why she had been so upset about the soup that was still clinging to the fabric of his tunic. Right now, the last thing on her mind was how the orange liquid was seeping into her own clothes as well, and why it had ever been something she had cared about was almost a mystery to her as she pushed past someone who might once have been the elderly lady who had told them stories, but might also have been a stranger as the glow from the castle cast eerie shadows over the town.

She had barely made it to the town centre, running towards the fountain with her brother following behind her, hoping that the slight vantage point the structure could provide her might let her see over the crowd of panicked people and spot a way for them to escape the town without being slowed down by the constant shoves, mumbled prayers, and loud curses, when she saw _them_.

The Guardians, the ancient machines she had seen halfway stuck in the ground the last time she had been able to convince her father to let her accompany him when he had to travel to Hateno Village to sell their goods, were advancing, moving closer and closer towards them, and from how they were able to climb over the houses, their long, thin legs making it seem like the structures had barely been more than a pebble on the road, it did not take long before they had moved past the little group of trees that had been planted in front of the gates leading up to the castle.

Around her, she could see and hear how the crowd stood still for a moment as everyone turned around to glance at the Guardians, the hushed whispers that spread through the air around them all wondering about the same thing. Had the Guardians finally come to save them? Was this a sign that the king had finally noticed what was happening in the town and ordered the Guardians to leave the castle to protect the citizens?

She realised the truth the moment before the world descended into chaos. The moment lasted ages and went by in the blink of an eye, a second she dedicated to looking up at the Guardians and noticing how the glow she could see shine from within the machines did not bear the usual blue shade that had caught her attention when she had seen how the guards had been able to somewhat control them. Instead, it glowed pink, the hue soon changing to a deep red.

Only seeing what would happen a second before the blast would have hit her, she threw herself forward, dragging her brother down with her as she put all her strength and weight into letting both of them fall down into the fountain, praying that the stone edge and the water that mercifully drowned out some of the screams around her would be enough to shield them from the sudden, unbearable warmth that filled the air above her. Next to her, she could hear her brother struggling against her grip, trying to make her remove her arm from around him, but although she felt like she could not hold her breath for even a second longer without passing out, she did not let go of him, knowing that, no matter how dangerous it was to stay in the water, the alternative would be worse.

It was not until she had forced herself to count to thirty, using every bit of strength, both mental and physical, to keep herself from giving in to the temptation to stick her head out of the water, to see what had happened, that she finally allowed herself to loosen her grip around her brother, and to stand up again, feeling how the world spun around her as she took in the sight that met her.

The world had caught fire. Where the street had been clean mere seconds before, it was now covered in rubble, the green leaves of the trees in front of her having been reduced to piles of ash, with the only sign that there had even been trees at all being how fire had yet to consume the tree trunks.

She could see exactly where the attack had hit, how the Guardian had seemingly let the beam of energy sweep over to the side of the road from how all that was left of the houses there was a combination of sooty stone and burning roofs. Behind her, she could hear how people were crying, desperation and pain filling the air, but although her father would no doubt have reminded her that she had a duty towards the people she could now hear calling for help, as the fear gripped her, she ran past the old lady asking for help to get up, past the girl she vaguely recognised as having been her best friend before the world had ended, and barely stopped to look at how someone was asking for anyone to help her children get away. None of that mattered to her in that moment, not when she could hear how her brother was sobbing, telling her to turn around and to run back to find their parents. She simply could not allow herself to imagine what had happened to them, not when she already knew that they had still been in the same part of the town as where the Guardian’s beam had hit. It would have been enough to crush her if she had, and so, she allowed the survival instincts to make the decision for her, freeing her from having to think about how her life had been changed in an instant, how they had lost everything in just a couple of minutes, to instead sprint through the streets, feeling how her heart and lungs burnt as she pushed herself to her very limits.

Around her, the Guardians spread out over the town, climbing on top of the houses and shooting beams of energy down at the streets below them, but either her mother had been right when she had told her to close the windows, right when she had made them eat cold food, or perhaps she was simply lucky, for she was able to drag her brother halfway through the town without meeting even a single Guardian.

But, of course, pure, blind luck and the mortal instinct for survival would only be able to keep her safe for so long, and as she finally reached the town walls, could see the entrance in front of her, it seemed that they had run out of luck. For as she took a step towards the opening, towards the fields she could see right outside the town, she heard the sound of something heavy moving towards them, the many footsteps appearing even louder in the eerie silence that had entered the town ever since she had first pulled her brother out of the fountain again and begun to sprint towards the gates.

Turning around, pushing her brother behind her and trying not to hear how even his tears died down, she found herself looking directly up at a Guardian.

It towered up above her, sitting on top of the burning remains of the house she could faintly recall having once belonged to her friend.

In that moment, she knew that they had been doomed from the start. Even if she had somehow been able to get them out of the town, they would still have been found by one of the Guardians that were now in the process of trying to climb over the walls around her. It had always been supposed to end like this for them; the minutes she had bought herself and her brother by having been able to survive the initial attack by using the water as a shield against the insufferable heat had never been anything more than a few seconds of borrowed time.

Perhaps it was the realisation, the way she could see her life flash before her eyes, how she had wasted so much time, being annoyed at how her mother had not wanted her to become a guard, having insisted that she would be safer if she stayed far away from the castle, sighing at her brother when he would waste the valuable food her father was able to bring home from one of his journeys, that gave her more courage than she would ever have thought herself capable of possessing, but as the shade of pink visible through the shell that covered the Guardian’s core gradually turned red, the little beam that already burnt a hole through her tunic only being a hint of what was to come, she made sure to grab her brother’s hand, keeping him behind her as she waited for the inevitable.

And while the few who had survived, those who had not been in the town that fateful day, would later whisper about how the princess might have survived, how her knight had led her to safety, how there was hope that they might return one day to save them all, whispering about how Zelda and Link would return to defeat the evil that dwelt within the castle until their names almost became synonymous with hope, the moment the panic had receded and the attack had ended, there was no one left to remember her name. After all, she had only been one among thousands. She had not been chosen by fate to save them and become a symbol of hope; she had simply been unlucky enough to become involved in a destiny that was far greater than her own. And now that destiny saw her standing there, clutching her brother’s hand as her heartbeat followed the rhythm of machinery, of energy building up and being released, for a moment before it all came to an end.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this! I have planned a couple other stories with the same theme of being about the people whose stories and names were not remembered, but I still need to work on a few other projects before finishing those, so it might take a while :)
> 
> If you want to, feel free to yell at me on [Tumblr](https://theseventhsage.tumblr.com/)


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